becamemarkedlyimpaired.Whenwehaddinner,shehad
toberemindedmorethanoncethatIwassittingacross
from her.
SheandFelixfeltthesorrowsoftheirlossesbutalsothe
pleasuresofwhattheystillhad.Althoughshemightnot
havebeenabletoremembermeorothersshedidn’tknow
too well, she enjoyed company and conversation and
soughtbothout.Moreover,sheandFelixstillhadtheir
own,private, decades-long conversationthat hadnever
stopped.He foundgreatpurposeincaringforher, and
she,likewise,foundgreatmeaninginbeingthereforhim.
Thephysicalpresenceofeachothergavethemcomfort.
Hedressedher,bathedher,helpedfeedher.Whenthey
walked,theyheldhands.Atnight,theylayinbedineach
other’s arms, awake and nestling for a while, before
finallydriftingofftosleep.Thosemoments,Felixsaid,
remainedamongtheirmostcherished.Hefelttheyknew
eachother,andlovedeachother,morethanatanytimein
their nearly seventy years together.
Oneday,however,theyhadanexperiencethatrevealed
justhowfragiletheirlifehadbecome.Belladevelopeda
cold,causingfluidtoaccumulateinherears.Aneardrum
ruptured.Andwiththatshebecametotallydeaf.Thatwas
allittook to severthethread betweenthem.With her
blindnessandmemoryproblems,thehearinglossmadeit
impossible for Felix to achieve any kind of
communicationwithher.Hetrieddrawingoutletterson
thepalmofher handbut shecouldn’tmake themout.
Even the simplest matters—getting her dressed, for
instance—became a nightmare of confusion for her.
Withoutsensorygrounding,shelosttrackoftimeofday.